For you Veterans

[Emmie01]

What is the one piece of advice you wished you had received before your first Coachella? I'm a festival virgin.

[fishboy]

Don't count on your cell phone to find people - make meet-up plans in advance and be specific, ie "Meet me at the stage right rear corner of Sahara." Take a good long look at where your car is parked and find some landmarks to help guide you back in the dark. Bring sunscreen and wear the most comfortable shoes you've got, shoes that you wouldn't mind getting stepped on in.

[chawns]

camping:
-Be prepared to be searched leaving and entering the campsite for drugs and alcohol.
-Gestapo like security rides around on golf carts with flashlights harassing campers.
-The shower/bathroom lines are huge.
-You will be locked out of the campsite if you leave at night.
-When the sun is up - it is too hot to sleep. Be prepared to be up at sunrise.
-Hotel or renting a house is a better option
festival:
-make sure you have proper funds/equipment to stay hydrated. I seriously drank 10 bottles of water/gatorade a day. Alcohol should be used sparingly or held off until night time.
- make sure to check out bands you aren't so familiar with. I saw the !!! show last year and they melted my face off.

That is like 8 pieces of advice

[roberto73]

Danny DeVito gets angry when you rub his head. But do it anyway.

[neverclever]

just make sure you read the "rules" on the website. that answers a lot of things. if you're travelling each day by car expect a slow line getting in and a very very very slow line getting out. try to get there earlier than 11am and if you leave at the close of the festival expect to be in the car for a long while... so bring like food, WATER, blankets and pillows.

[SFChrissy]

be kind to your neighbor!!!

[nationocean]

more like, get your goddamn drug circle out of my way.. everyone sitting around in the sahara after the sun goes down sucking on loli's or something because of all the E they've taken..

just don't ask me for 'drugs' noob.

[faxman75]

camping:
-Be prepared to be searched leaving and entering the campsite for drugs and alcohol.

This search largely consists of looking inside bags and coolers. If you are creative there are no issues. In fact the campsite did not have any shortage of homemade cocktails and drugs. For example, they do not unroll your sleeping bags and feel every inch of them.

-Gestapo like security rides around on golf carts with flashlights harassing campers.

Another misconception. I suppose if you are causing a ruckus or chanting rage lyrics at cops who are telling you to calm down or you are so messed up that you don't k now how to act like an adult any longer, then you might draw some attention to yourself. At our "area" last year at any given time we had a bag of weed out in the open on the table, a bowl or a joint going around and people pouring cocktails. We were in fact situated probably the closest to the police area, where they all were lined up on golf carts. We were harrassed ZERO times.

-The shower/bathroom lines are huge.

Not really. I never waited more than 15 minutes the whole weekend. You can either shower at night, first thing in the morning like 6am or later at like 11am and you will be fine with not much of a wait. In fact when i showered last year I walked by trailers that weren't open yet with lines that were insanely long because people A) were afraid of the communal showers or B) decided not to walk another 20-30 yards to the showers that had been open for a couple hours already. I didn't get it.

-You will be locked out of the campsite if you leave at night.

False. last I checked onsite camping is 24/7. How did you get locked out? There is no lock. What happened to you here?

-When the sun is up - it is too hot to sleep. Be prepared to be up at sunrise.

Ahh finally a FACT. yes, the sun is hot, you wake when it wakes. Get up and get ready for the day.

[rage patton]

Danny DeVito gets angry when you rub his head. But do it anyway.

Hahaha. Best advice ever. Did you seriously do that?

[Astrid]

don't forget sunscreen of course.

[amyzzz]

Don't forget to reapply sunscreen throughout the day if you're there before 5pm.

Maybe that previous post meant you cannot drive out of or into the camping parking lot from 11pm to 2pm every night.

[captncrzy]

Bring in a cheap squirt bottle. Carry it around all day. It's your own personal mister.

[chawns]

This search largely consists of looking inside bags and coolers. If you are creative there are no issues. In fact the campsite did not have any shortage of homemade cocktails and drugs. For example, they do not unroll your sleeping bags and feel every inch of them.



Another misconception. I suppose if you are causing a ruckus or chanting rage lyrics at cops who are telling you to calm down or you are so messed up that you don't k now how to act like an adult any longer, then you might draw some attention to yourself. At our "area" last year at any given time we had a bag of weed out in the open on the table, a bowl or a joint going around and people pouring cocktails. We were in fact situated probably the closest to the police area, where they all were lined up on golf carts. We were harrassed ZERO times.



Not really. I never waited more than 15 minutes the whole weekend. You can either shower at night, first thing in the morning like 6am or later at like 11am and you will be fine with not much of a wait. In fact when i showered last year I walked by trailers that weren't open yet with lines that were insanely long because people A) were afraid of the communal showers or B) decided not to walk another 20-30 yards to the showers that had been open for a couple hours already. I didn't get it.



False. last I checked onsite camping is 24/7. How did you get locked out? There is no lock. What happened to you here?



Ahh finally a FACT. yes, the sun is hot, you wake when it wakes. Get up and get ready for the day.

I camped in 04 so maybe they corrected some of this stuff. But here is my story:
When we check in, they dumped out my bag, and unrolled my friend's sleeping bag. They spotted a group of people trying to hoist a cooler over the fence and tackled them like they were pulling out guns. The security drove through the tent lines. They shined the flashlight into my tent They inspected my friend's rolled cigarette and asked me to pour out my cup of mysterious liquid. The were looking in on girls changing and generally being disgusting. No chants at cops or tomfoolery I promise. The quickest shower line i was in was about 30 minutes, and I was looking for shorter lines. We left the first night to hit the local bars and tried to get back into the parking lot about 1AM. The security would not let us back in so we had to sleep in the car on the side of the road. Hopefully they fixed this shit. But it is still hot.

[roberto73]

Hahaha. Best advice ever. Did you seriously do that?

I actually patted it, Benny Hill-style. But it wasn't at Coachella – it was at the Palm Springs Film Festival a few years ago.

[eefeef]

Check out random acts you haven't seen or heard - Some of my most pleasant Coachella experiences have been finding new acts who greatly impressed me. Usually, I'm more happy with that than seeing the headliners

On the more practical side:
Flip-flops or shoes - a giant polo field might seem like a good reason to go barefoot but I posted these reasons (as to why not) last year:
- dirty/dusty
- stray rocks or garbage on the ground
- your feet will get stepped on, especially at night or in crowded tents (why you might want shoes over flip flops)
- on the off chance it happens, stepping on a discarded lit cigarette probably will ruin the festival for you
- porta-potty barefoot = x_X
Anti-Chafing items if you chafe - gold bond or mole skin is nice
Sunglasses - especially useful for stage watching at sunset
Ear plugs – After a show, I like being able to hear
Wetwipes, toilet paper, or Kleenex – bring your own, as it’s better to have and not need, then to not have and need.
Medication - I've never needed it, but aspirin and other over-the-counters might be useful. And any medication you actually do need. Make sure it’s clearly labeled as well and, if needed, the prescription, otherwise it might get confiscated. The FAQ has some more info.

[full on idle]

Buy a shirt right away before they sell out of all the good ones.

[C DUB YA]

Ok so I have more than 1 thing... some CDUBYA do's and don'ts

I'll keep adding some as I have time.


1. DON'T rely on your cell phone, the reception is going to suck (even though its loads better than it was in 99)

2. DO Drink plenty of water and wear plenty of sunscreen

3. DO map out who you want to see ahead of time, then cordinate with your party a meet up time (and specific spot) - chances are everyone will want to see different things if your party is 4 or more people.

4. DON'T try and sneak things (including SLR cameras) in if you are not preparred for the walk of shame (a long grueling walk back to your car) it will stink, you will complain and your day wil get off on the wrong foot.

5. DO Eat early (outside the venue) arrive early. Denny's and In N Out Burger (the food spots) will be slammed from 9 am on.

6. (mainly for the ladies) DON'T expect the porta-johns to have toilet paper. Bring a little bit of your own. (Target sells mini rolls of Charmin in their travel sized area).[

7. DO Take a shade break if there are no acts you want to see.

8. DO Arrive at least one band before the act you wanna see, at any given stage, (esp bigger names in the tents) last few years there have been times that the crowds are so deep all you will see is the outside of the tent and nothing else.

9. DO buy your merch early

10. DO (for the boys mainly) wear cargos and ditch the backpacks - you'll be comfortable, and you'll still have the ability to carry water bottles, cameras and shirts you bought.

11. DON'T hold your cell phone up in front of someone for an entire song - put down the silly cell phones - those pictures really suck anyways.

12. DO try and make a point of visiting all the stages or seeing an act you're not that familar with - this is always a strong point of the festival - you'll prolly be pleasantly surprised.

13. (not for everyone) DO Avoid the beer gardens (unless you have to have a beer) you are away from the stages and you'll spend more time there than you think you have. For me - I'd rather be watching the music I paid for, and drink better beer, later after the sun goes down. Your body will thank you too come day 3 of the festival.

[Trailmix]

Ok so I have more than 1 thing...


1. Your cell phone reception is going to suck (even though its loads better than it was in 99)

2. Drink water and wear plenty of sunscreen

3. Map out who you want to see ahgead of time, then cordinate with your party a meet up time (and spot) - chances are everyone will want to see different things if your party is 4 or more people.

4. don't try and sneak things in if you are not preparred for the walk of shame (a long grueling walk back to your car)

5. Eat early (outside the venue) arrive early. Denny's and In N Out Burger (the food spots) will be slammed from 9 am on.

6. Avoid the beer gardens (unless you have to have a beer) you are away from the stages and you'll spend more time there than you think you have. Excecption is if you are taking a shade break.

7. Take a shade break if there are no acts you want to see.

8. Arrive at least one band before the act you wanna see, at any given stage, (esp bigger names in the tents) last few years there have been times that the crowds are so deep all you will see is the outside of the tent and nothing else.

9. buy merch early

10. (for the boys mainly) wear cargos and ditch the backpacks - you'll be comfortable, and you'll still have the ability to carry water bottles, cameras and shirts you bought.

11. put down the silly cell phones - those pictures really suck anyways.

Early in the day there is one beer garden that you can get an ok view of the main stage which is nice to take a break have a beer and check out an act that you have never listened to before.

[C DUB YA]

yeah that one is ok - but your still a nice distance away, and in the sun for the most part. Again, for me, I'd rather be watching music and drinking water during the day, then go drink quality beer at my hotel at night.

[LarbFlonsen]

As much as I like beer, the frozen lemonade is way more satisfying at Coachella...and besides, you're not confined to the beer garden with them.

[sonofhal]

Don't urinate on the Tesla Coil.

[AbundantChoice]

Let's see...

- Choose your hat based on sun protection, not fashion. Preferably a hat that can breathe. If you find one that also protects the back of your neck, even better.

- If youre drinking lots of water, mix in a bottle of Powerade now and then as you'll be sweating out *alot* of salts.

- Everyone and their sister will be trying to record the shows on their crappy cameraphones. 99% of these videos will utterly fail, and just serve to annoy everyone else who is trying to look past the army of people holding their cameras and phones in the air like zombies.

-Once the timeslots get posted a day or two before, come up with a *general* plan, but don't plan things down to the second! if you try to schedule in a crapton of bands and have every single thing planned out, it can get stressfull. So keep track of which bands you want to hit, but be flexible, and don't be afraid to change things up on the fly. Feel free to skip a band and go see some art and catch some shade. It's not a contest.

-Skip the beer gardens.

And, of course, the best piece of advice,

- Frozen Lemonade is perhaps the greatest food ever invented, especially when it's the middle of the hot afternoon.

[damon8]

Don't urinate on the Tesla Coil.

and if u do please take photo's and post on this thread so we can all laugh!

[C DUB YA]

As much as I like beer, the frozen lemonade is way more satisfying at Coachella...and besides, you're not confined to the beer garden with them.

amen

[ivankay]

As much as I like beer, the frozen lemonade is way more satisfying at Coachella...and besides, you're not confined to the beer garden with them.

amen

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. slushy coldness with a fantistic lemonadey sugary goodness.

[woogie846]

If there's a band that you really want to see, get there 1-2 acts prior they get on stage.

[rage patton]

As much as I like beer, the frozen lemonade is way more satisfying at Coachella...and besides, you're not confined to the beer garden with them.

Seriously, I couldn't agree more. I probably spent $50+ on lemonade over the weekend. And I don't regret a dollar of it.
Now if only the Churros at Coachella could be as good as the Vegoose churros...

[ChiefThunderFist]

Never except money from a stranger. There's a fine line between being nice and being a dealer.... so I hear.

[breakjaw]

There's free smokes to be had from American Spirit.Last year my friend I each got 1 pack every day.

[Weeping Willow]

pay very special attention to where your car is parked. Take mental notes, really really good ones. You can save a ton of time if you get right to your car after the show instead of wondering if you are in the right lot, and how you could possibly have this much dust on you.